Labour, Conservative, and Lib Dem AMs backed a Plaid demand that no shake-up of hospitals should go ahead before adequate community service back-up was available.

Dr Gibbons said plans should be delayed only where there was an impact on delivery of community services. "I wouldn't want to take from this debate that hospital reconfiguration can't proceed at all within Wales," he said.

Earlier, First Minister Rhodri Morgan told AMs during question time that in North Wales proposals were &#x201c;on hold&#x201d; while the local health board prepared a report for the regional NHS office ahead of an arbitration meeting next month.

St Asaph and Abergele hospitals would close, while coronary care and breast cancer services would be moved from Llandudno under NHS plans.

Acute services would be transferred to the main district general hospitals in Bangor, Bodelwyddan and Wrexham.

Similar proposals for Mid and West Wales also prompted a public outcry, which threatened to dominate the run-up to the Assembly elections in May.

North Wales Plaid AM, Janet Ryder, said: "We would now expect to see the whole re-configuration process stopped and re-started afresh.&#x201d;

Plaid described the NHS proposals as a &#x201c;leap of faith&#x201d; for communities across Wales because of the lack of detail on what would replace those services.

A spokesman said: "Patients and clinical staff in North Wales feel we are heading straight for another care in the community disaster, where hospital based services and support was withdrawn without community services ready to take their place."

AMs also unanimously approved a Lib Dem amendment, which called for 'genuine public consultation with the views of local communities not only listened to but taken on board'.